disney princesses
by jsophie
Summary: cinderella agnoises over her love for Aurora. she must choose between aurora and everything she has.


ever after

cindy's ball

Cinderella danced with Prince Charming at the magnificent hall of the royal palace, and they were undoubtedly the envy of the whole kingdom. Even other princesses had to wonder at some point in their lives if what they were living were only pale imitations of fairy tale lives, and Cinderella ultimately won it all; the crown, the Prince, the glass slipper. If there was even one happily ever after in this world of ours, it had be the life Cinderella was living after she married Prince Charming. And she knew it too. Cinderella sometimes too wondered why chance favored her over the millions of girls who had become her fans. Every night when she took off her glass slippers after a ball she would thank the god, or goddess of fortune, or her fairy godmother or whatever it was that gave her what she had, put her where she was in life, for everything she had and been through. In her sleep Cinderella would smile. Of course there was not the slightest possibility for her dreams to be more heavenly than the life she was living, but that would not affect her enjoyment of them. And once again she would travel back to that night she met the prince of her dreams, dancing and dancing… till she was waken by the cries of morning birds, and then she would live that life that so many had envied. Sometimes she would wake to find trails of tears of happiness on her cheeks, and she would wipe them off instantly, blaming herself for her silliness. For her dream life would continue for as long she lived, the prince by her side, royal maids waiting at the door with dresses to be tried on, royal escorts ready to accompany her to balls, on the condition that she would go on loving the prince, and the prince her. Should the day come when she ceased to love the prince, the man from her dreams, let woe befall her, for- but for what? What silliness was this? Was this another dream of nonsense? But it was morning again, and Cinderella had no time for these ruminations of hers.

That morning it was raining and Cinderella waited for Prince Charming's return outside the palace with an umbrella in her hand. A carriage stopped in front of the royal palace and a woman looked at of the carriage window, her eyes meeting Cinderella's for so brief a second. The coachman opened the carriage door, and the woman stepped out of the carriage. Cinderella did not know the name of the woman but she felt certain that she was of high birth. There was something peculiarly soft and caressing about her expression, Cinderella thought and ran down the royal stairs to share her umbrella with this unknown woman of elegance and grace. Aurora's hand touched Cinderella's as the two held the umbrella between them. When Cinderella later looked back on her life, she would recognize this unconditional act of kindness as the turning point of her life, the point where the hammer hit the glass. The woman said "thank you" in French before she went through the palace doors. Another carriage arrived almost immediately and an announcement of the return of Prince Charming was sounded.

"This is too kind, Cindy, you waiting for me outside in the rain." Prince Charming said as he put his arm around her shoulder. She did not reply, her mind occupied by the anonymous woman she had just met. Cinderella was very affected by the chance meeting her had had with Aurora. She knew deep down a connection was made between them, as if a goddess had taken a string and tied each end to their ankles.

The time between the meeting with the woman and the evening ball seemed to have vanished by a flick of a wand. Cinderella opened the ball with Prince Charming with the first dance and the ballroom was serene and familiar. They were swirling in the ballroom and all eyes were on them, dancing and dancing past all those royalties they knew and did not know, and then the second dance began and everyone joined in. The music was hypnotizing, and Cinderella walked around to welcome the guests, then she recognized the woman she met earlier during the day. Cinderella's eyes sparkled at the sight of her, and she could barely resist the eagerness which was inspired in her. Golden locks rested on the shoulders of the woman and when she turned her head Cinderella could not find the words to describe her beauty. It almost hurt to look at her so directly.

"may I introduce to you Princess Aurora, princess of xx kingdom, wife of prince philip." Wife of prince philip? Part of her felt disappointed, almost dejected. Princess Aurora curtsied in front of Cinderella and her luscious pink gown spilled into the marble floor like a scoop of melted strawberry ice-cream. Cinderella kissed Aurora's hand even though it was rare for the mistress of a greater and superior kingdom to do so, let alone a woman. Aurora seemed stunned at first, but she smiled and did not seem to mind. "May I dance with you?" Cindy almost regretted it as soon as she asked. Aurora looked surprised. Perhaps she did not speak English well enough, Cindy thought and felt momentarily relieved, and turned around to leave the spot, only to feel her hand tightly gripped by Aurora's. "You may."

A waltz began to play in the background and Cindy took Aurora's hand in hers and she held her dress in the other hand. Cindy felt hypnotized by the beauty of her dance partner, her scent, her graceful dance moves and as they danced across the ballroom, Cindy felt a sense of elation she never had before, and she felt that the world had suddenly opened itself up to her, revealing to her its greatest mysteries and secrets. The only point of contact between Cindy and Aurora was their palms, which were pressed together during the dance, but Cindy felt that the aura surrounding them wrapped them in an universe of their own and their clasped palms formed the centre of that universe. Cindy could almost feel the heat of Aurora's fingertips through her own, and the noises from the background began to melt away with every swirl they made across the ballroom. When Cindy raised her hand for Aurora's spin during the dance, their fingers intertwined and Cindy felt her heart raced. Then came the slow movement of the piece, and Aurora pressed her back against Cindy's chest, their intertwined hands resting on Aurora's stomach. Aurora's golden locks brushed against Cindy's cheek and Cindy took in the scent of her hair, and pressed her own chin onto Aurora's bare shoulder. It was soft and warm and Cindy, almost un-self-consciously began to hum the music in Aurora's ear, until the waltz finally faded and Aurora turned her face to Cindy and Cindy kissed her on the lips.

And that was how Cinderella met Aurora, and how their tormented romantic relationship began.

Snow white's tea party

"One sugar or two?"

"Thanks, I'll help myself."

When Snow White handed Cindy a cup of tea on a plate, their hands touched for a briefest moment, and Snow White looked into Cindy's eyes and smiled. Cindy thought to herself, what beautiful eyes she had, so dark and brilliant, like two black diamonds. Snow White had had the blessings of her mother prior to her birth, and she was to have lips red as blood and skin white as snow all her life. All the princesses were beautiful, no doubt, but what made Snow White stood out was her air of innocence and cheerfulness which seemed to accompany her wherever she went. Despite her young age, she was mature, considerate and graceful. Snow White would always be the most lovable out of them all. She managed that almost effortlessly.

Cindy sat there, thinking, as she looked at Snow White get up to get a piece of cake for herself. She was sitting next to Snow White, she suddenly realized, the eternal girl. Snow White had an aura of light which surrounded her face, and the sight of Snow White reaching for cake made Cindy's eyes flood with tears. She was incredibly beautiful. Cindy put her hand on top of Snow's to help her with the cutting. Snow smiled at Cindy once again, and the smile could, Cindy thought, melt even the stoniest of hearts. The hand Cindy was pressing on was soft and silkest, compared with Cindy's which were roughened by those years of chores during her adolescence. It was an official royal duty to be meeting the princesses from the other kingdoms, but Snow White made it so much more enjoyable, so much more intimate. She would invite you over for tea parties she had prepared meticulously with the birds, and then she would serve you cakes she had made herself- just imagine that! A princess baking in the kitchen! She knew what made you feel comfortable and she would do just that, nothing more, nothing less.

Snow White saw that Cindy was lost in her thoughts and so she leaned in and held Cindy's hand. "Cindy, if you ever have something that is troubling you, you could always come to me. I'm always happy to listen." Cindy trembled when she felt Snow White's hand pressing on hers, and felt that she was at a loss for words. How would you about telling your best friend that you have just had the most wonderful night in your entire life, because of a princess whom you have not known since yesterday? What if your entire life was wasted on a dream because that was what you thought you wanted, but in fact you did not? Cindy shook violently at the thought of this possibility, and Snow White was watching her all this time. Snow White drew Cindy closer and rested Cindy's head on her own chest, stroking her hair gently. "It's about Aurora, isn't it?" Cindy blushed when she heard that name, and was about to say something in response, but Snow White continued, "have you spoken to Aurora after the ball?" "no," "maybe you should find out what Aurora thinks. She might be feeling the same." Cindy looked up, and asked, "is it ever too late-" "to find true love?" Snow White continued the sentence for her. "Cindy, if I were you, I would never let anything stand between me and my happiness." Even when I am married? Even when I am supposed to have married the one man that every girl is in love in? Snow White seemed to have read her mind, and said, "there is nothing more important in this world than finding true love, and there is nothing wrong in realizing that you are in love with someone you are not married to." Cindy wished she knew what to do, or more precisely, what she wanted. Pursuing Aurora would mean giving up everything she had ever wanted, the prince, the crown, the balls, but if she pretended nothing happened she would always wonder if she had missed out on the best thing in her life. "Would you like to see – Aurora?" Snow White asked, "I can ask Ariel to arrange it, I know she is holding a concert at her palace soon."

Thanks, that would be a good idea, Cindy wanted to say, but was that really the best thing to do? Perhaps Aurora never desired her anyway, then the matter would be settled and she could go back to being her old self. But what if she did? Where would this lead ultimately? Their relationship was not going anywhere even if they both wanted it with all their hearts. They would be banished from the kingdoms if they ever showed any interest in each other. Aurora would suffer from the relationship too and it might be better if she just gave up.

"I don't know," Cindy answered honestly. "I'll get Ariel to send you an invitation anyway so you don't have to decide now." Snow White said, and Cindy felt grateful. A few days later the invitation arrived at the palace and Cindy hid it in the drawer of her dressing table so that Prince Charming would not know about it. Lying on the royal bed beside her husband, Cindy began to feel guilty for keeping it a secret from him, and briefly thought about telling him everything; what she felt for Aurora, her conversation with Snow White and the upcoming concert. But why tell him? The meeting with Aurora could just end with a rejection from the sound minded Aurora, and everything would go back to normal, at least that was what Cindy hoped.


End file.
